Bert Turner (politician)


John Albert "Bert" Turner was a member of the Queensland Legislative Assembly.

Biography

Turner was born in Brisbane, Queensland, the son of William Riggen Turner and his wife Lucy. He was educated at Milton State School and after finishing his education joined the fire brigade in 1906.
He married Annie Hunter Horsburgh on 9 January 1915 and they had two daughters. He died in April 1973 and willed his body to the School of Anatomy at Queensland University for medical research and was later cremated.

Public career

Turner was a founder and the first secretary of the Queensland Fire Brigade Union before becoming an organiser with the Motor Drivers and Motor Mechanics Union. He then was an organiser with the Queensland Storemen and Packers Union from 1924 to 1941. He was a founder and president of the Labor Ashgrove Jubilee Branch in 1927.
He won the seat of Kelvin Grove at the 1941 Queensland state elections and held it till his defeat by the Liberal Party's Doug Tooth in 1957.